Check out our new logo and look in this month’s update.. We’ll give an update on that and more on our call this Friday!
Join the ACTION Campaign Monthly Call on Friday, November 5 at 2 PM EST
The ACTION Campaign monthly call will be held on Friday, November 5 at 2:00 PM EST. Please find the Zoom call information below, and download and import the iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Join Zoom Meeting:
- https://enterprisecommunity.zoom.us/j/97691009830?pwd=MThDdmxTRkl5UXhXeGttMkUycGFDdz09
- Meeting ID: 976 9100 9830
- Password: 314424
One tap mobile:
- +19292056099,,97691009830# US (New York)
- +16699006833,,97691009830# US (San Jose)
Legislative State of Play
The Build Back Better Act negotiations continue, which means so must our advocacy for the Housing Credit. As we have shared before, legislative vehicles to move comprehensive tax proposals like the provisions from the September House Build Back Better proposal are few and far between—this is one of our best opportunities to see critical Housing Credit proposals from the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act enacted.
On Monday, October 25, ACTION sent a letter signed by hundreds of our members and other affordable housing stakeholders to President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. We distributed the letter to House and Senate Democratic tax staff as well, asking them to reinforce the message of support with congressional leadership and the White House.
In our ACTION alert on Thursday, October 30th, following the release of the new, pared back Build Back Better framework, we shared that the Housing Credit production provisions were not included, but are still under consideration for the final reconciliation legislation. Conversations with key decisionmakers have indicated that tax provisions, including the Housing Credit, are being discussed at present. The Build Back Better framework proposes major critical investments in rental assistance, public housing, and other housing spending programs, including more modest but still substantial resources for HUD production programs like the HOME Investment Partnerships program and the Housing Trust Fund. But these two supply-side “gap filler” programs depend heavily on the Housing Credit. Without corresponding investment in the Housing Credit, they cannot drive meaningful production of affordable rental supply.
The next 48 hours may result in key decisions and ACTION strongly encourages our members and supporters to weigh in with Congressional and White House leadership on the importance of the Housing Credit provisions in the final package.
We so appreciate all of the incredible advocacy that has kept the Housing Credit provisions in the game and encourage advocates to keep up the pressure as the legislation is finalized. Particularly impactful at this point would be for those with personal connections within the White House or with Members of Congress to call today and tomorrow to ask that they reach out to President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to convey the importance of including the Housing Credit production provisions in the final deal.
Check out ACTION’s recent Housing Credit messaging options to use in your outreach, and look up contact information for your Members of Congress.
Emails are still helpful too, but the timing is urgent to make direct connections. Please contact Krista D’Alessandro, kdalessandro@enterprisecommunity.org, for additional support or with any questions.
ACTION Membership
The ACTION Campaign is pleased to welcome our newest members, who join in October:
- PK Companies, National
- Estes Park Housing Authority, Colorado
- Hawaii Housing Finance & Development Corporation, Hawaii
Help ACTION continue to grow by asking affordable housing advocates in your networks who are not yet members to join the coalition. Membership is free, and the more members that sign on, the better ACTION can demonstrate to Members of Congress the widespread support for the Housing Credit across the country. You can also help by following the ACTION Campaign’s LinkedIn page, sharing it with your network, and asking them to join as we work to expand and strengthen the Housing Credit!
Housing Credit Research
- A Novogradac analysis estimates that the $30 billion of Housing Credit provisions included in the House Ways and Means Committee Reconciliation bill would finance more than 1.38 million affordable rental homes over 2022 to 2031.
- A joint report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and the Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation (PAHRC), 2021: Picture of Preservation, details how federally assisted rental homes “require renewed and sustained funding commitments to ensure future affordability and habitability.” If preservation efforts are not expanded, they estimate that the affordable housing stock could lose nearly 176,800 federally assisted homes over the next five years. Included among that figure are Housing Credit properties, as 44 percent of federally assisted homes with income and affordability restrictions expiring in the next five years are supported by the Housing Credit. The report also estimates that approximately 143,456 homes awarded a Housing Credit subsidy since 1990 lost their affordability restrictions early, and four out of five of these homes lost their affordability restrictions after 15 years of affordability.
Housing Credit News Highlights
- An October 19th Affordable Housing Finance piece written by ACTION Steering Committee Member Emily Cadik, executive director of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition, details the importance of the Build Back Better reconciliation legislation, and how affordable housing advocates must continue to elevate the Housing Credit to Congressional and White House leadership in the ongoing reconciliation negotiations.
- The Laconia Daily Sun’s October 21st article highlights Senator Maggie Hassan’s (D-NH) support for the Housing Credit, noting her cosponsorship of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act.
- An October 27th opinion piece in CNN Business by Jim Parrot, non-resident fellow at the Urban Institute, and Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, highlights the extreme housing shortage across the United States and cites the Housing Credit as one “well-developed” and “bipartisan” solution to increase the affordable housing supply.
- An October 27th opinion piece in lohud by Rachel Fee, executive director of the New York Housing Conference, emphasizes the importance of including the Housing Credit production provision to lower the 50 percent private activity bond threshold to 25 percent in the reconciliation legislation in order to address New York’s affordable housing crisis.
- An October 28th opinion piece in the Miami Herald by Matthew Rieger, president and CEO of the Housing Trust Group, emphasizes the need for affordable housing funds in the reconciliation legislation, specifically highlighting the Housing Credit a key program that is “well-established, professionally administered, and [has] a long track record of success.”
